Hinged gutter fascia



A ril 21, 1970 H. DQsAYE s, SR. 3,

' HINGED GUTTER FASCIA Filed "March a, 1968 Herberf 0. Sayers, Sr.

' INVENTOR.

BY M1,, m I

United States Patent 3,507,078 HINGED GUTTER FASCIA Herbert D. Sayers, Sr., 603 12th St., Radford, Va. 24141 Filed Mar. 8, 1968, Ser. No. 711,800 Int. Cl. E04d 13/035 U.S. C]. 52-15 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A hinged gutter fascia attached to the edge of a roof structure enabling pivotal movement thereof from an operative position to an inverted or dumping position to enable cleaning of the gutter, removal of leaves, debris and the like therefrom in an expeditious manner. Various types of hinge structures may be employed which pivotally support the gutter fascia from the top surface of the roof or from the bottom surface thereof.

In roof structures such as those employed as carport covers, patio covers, porch covers, canopies, marquees and the like, a plurality of elongated channel-shaped members or pans are interconnected and supported in such a manner to form the roof. On at least one edge of the roof in perpendicular relation to the longitudinal pans, there is mounted a gutter fascia which is a single or unitary extrusion having a fascia plate and gutter incorporated therein in which the fascia plate is disposed closely adjacent the end of the plans but slightly spaced therefrom with the generally V-shaped gutter disposed below this space. The gutters sometimes become clogged with leaves, debris, insect nests, bird nests, dirt and the like. This is due in part to the insulation in which there is very little fall in the gutter fascia. Water hoses such as garden hoses or the like are frequently used in an effort to flush the gutter fascia but this is not too successful.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to attach the gutter fascia in such a manner that the gutter fascia can be pivoted from its normal position to an inverted or dumping position to enable the gutter to be easily cleaned.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinged gutter fascia that is pivotally attached to the top surfaces of the pans forming the roof structure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a gutter fascia hingedly and slidably attached to supporting brackets carried by the underportion of the pans or supporting structure therefor.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a gutter fascia in accordance with the preceding objects which is simple in construction, secure in mounting, easy to move to the dumping and cleaning position and relatively inexpensive to manufacture and install.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a corner of a roof structure with the present invention incorporated therein;

FIGURE 2 is a detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 22 of FIGURE 1 illustrating the structural details of the gutter fascia and the manner in which it is hingedly attached to the top surface of the pan forming the roof; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view similar to FIGURE 2 but with the gutter fascia supported for outward sliding and downward pivoting thereof to the cleaning position.

3,507,078 Patented Apr. 21, 1970 Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates a roof structure which is constructed of a plurality of generally channel-shaped pans 14 which are defined by a substantially flat bottom wall 16 and upwardly inclined side walls 18 with the upper edges of the side walls having interconnecting flanges defining a substantially flat surface 20 which is relatively narrow in relation to the bottom walls or panels 16. This construction is conventional and is employed in presentday roof structures or covers for carports, patios, porches and the like. Such roof structures may be free standing or attached to a building wall at one or more edges thereof. The roof structures may be supported with the pans 14 either perpendicular to or parallel to the building wall if attached to the building with some degree of slope incorporated into the structure so that water will drain to either end of the pan or, if desired, the pans may be completely flat so that the water may drain to both ends thereof in the event of a free standing roof. In any event, a periphery of the roof is provided with a fascia 22 along the longitudinal edge of the pans 14 and a gutter fascia generally designated by the numeral 24 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pans 14. The fascia 22 and the gutter fascia 24 are conventional in construction and both of them include a vertical panel 26 having inwardly extending projections 28 on the outer surface thereof for removably receiving a facing member 30 which may be changeable. This construction is conventional and forms no particular part of the invention with it being pointed out that the present invention may be employed with various types of fascia gutters presently available.

The bottom of the panel 26 is provided with an integral inwardly and upwardly inclined panel 32 which cooperates with the panel 26 to form a substantially V-shaped gutter with the panel 26 being substantially vertical and the panel 32 being inwardly and upwardly inclined and terminating in a vertical flange 34 having an inturned flange 36 thereon which engages the bottom surface of the pans 14 as illustrated in FIGURE 2.

There is a space 38 provided between the ends of the pans 14 and the upstanding fascia or panel 26 which enables water to pass off the ends of the pans 14 into the trough or gutter. While this space may be relatively small, it is still sufficient to enable passage of dirt, twigs, leaves and the like all of which tend to clog the gutter so that water will be trapped therein and also trapped in the pans 14 especially when a relatively hard rain occurs.

The upper edge of the panel 26 is provided with an inwardly extending flange 40 generally in alignment with and attached to the flange surfaces 20 on the pans 14. A depending flange 42 is provided on the flange 40 to form a limit for the end of the pan 14.

In the present invention, a hinged structure generally designated by the numeral 44 supports the gutter fascia 24 from the pans 14. The hinge structure is that type referred to as a piano hinge including continuous flanges 46 and 48. The flanges 46 and 48 have interdigitated hinge barrel segments 50 formed thereon with a hinge rod 52 extending therethrough thus forming a hinge axis above the top edges or flanges of the pans 14 as illustrated in FIG. 2. The flange 48 is attached to the flange 40 of the gutter fascia by fasteners 54 and the flange 46 is attached to the flanges 20 of the pans 14 by fasteners 56 which may be of the self-threading or self-tapping type normally employed with sheet metal, aluminum extrusions and the like.

With the hinge 44 installed, the gutter fascia 24 may be pivoted about the hinge axis 52 from the operative full line position in which the flange 36 is in abutting engagement with the bottom surface of the bottom 16 of the pans 14 to the dumping or cleaning position illustrated in 3 dotted lines in FIG. 2 in which the gutter fascia 24 is disposed in inverted position above the pans 14. Any suitable instrument such as a water hose, brush or the like may be employed to effectively clean the interior of the gutter fascia. After cleaning, the gutter fascia 24 is pivoted back to its operative position.

For holding the gutter fascia 24 in its operative position, a corner member 58 is provided which is right angular in configuration and provided with one set of fasteners 59 securing one flange thereof to the fascia panel 26. The other flange is secured to the fascia 22 by fastener elements 61. By removing the two fastener elements 61, the gutter fascia 24 is free to pivot to the upstanding dumping or cleaning position.

FIGURE 3 illustrates another arrangement for pivotally supporting the gutter fascia 24 from the pans 14 in which the gutter fascia 24 is capable of swinging downwardly about a horizontal axis located below the pans 14. This construction involves the provision of a support member 60 attached to the inclined wall 32 of the fascia gutter by suitable brackets 62. The member 60 includes a telescopic section 64 received Within a tubular sleeve 66 that is attached to the supporting member 68 in any suitable manner. The supporting member 68 is a horizontal tubing member or other support normally provided across the bottom of the pans for rigidifying and supporting the pans. The telescoping member 64 is slidable in the sleeve 66 and is secured in place by a fastening member 70 threaded into or attached to the telescopic member 64 which extends out through a longitudinal slot 72 in the sleeve 66 thus enabling the telescopic member 64 to be locked in the retracted position as illustrated in FIG. 3 or extended for a distance within the limits of the length of the slot 72. The member 60 and the telescopic member 64 are pivotally attached together by a hinge structure 74 attached to the bottoms of the members 60 and 64 with the hinge axis being transversely coincidental with the line of juncture between the members 60 and 64 thus enabling the members 60 and 64 to pivot in relation to each other. The gutter fascia 24 is retained in assembled or operative position in the same manner as in FIGS. 1 and .2, that is with a right angular corner member 58. In order to enable the gutter fascia 24 to pivot downwardly about the hinge axis 74, the fastener 70 has to be loosened after the two screws 62 on the corner member 58 have been removed so that the telescopic member 64 and the supporting member 60 and the gutter fascia 24 can be moved longitudinally outwardly until the flange 34 clears the bottom of the pans 14 so that the fascia gutter can swing downwardly into its inverted or dumping position which also enables the fascia gutter to be easily cleaned by employing a water hose, brush, broom or other suitable instrumentality.

Various conventional types of hinge structures may be employed in either embodiment of the invention and the specific manner of connecting the various components may be varied as desired commensurate with various structural requirements of each individual installation. The various hinge structures and attaching devices may be constructed of materials corresponding to the materials from which the gutter fascia is constructed and it is also within the purview of the present invention to have the hinge structure as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 be originally a part of the extrusion forming the gutter fascia and then by a simple stamping process, the extension on the flange 40 may be employed to form the separate flange 46 with the flange 48, of course, be integral with the flange 40 and actually an extension thereof thereby reducing the cost of the present invention to a minimum. However, the hinge structure as illustrated or other conventional types of hinged may be employed for supporting the gutter fascia in operative position and enabling it to be pivoted to an inoperative or dumping and cleaning position.

As will be apparent, the gutter supporting unit can be removed completely by removing screw 70. Thus the hinge 74 may be omitted in some installations and cleaning permitted by sliding the gutter fascia outwardly beyond the pans or completely removed. Further, the supports 60 and 64 may be supported directly from the pans 14 for movement to cleaning position. This invention can be used with various shaped gutter assemblies such as square, rounded or the like with or without the colored fascia trim. Also, when the gutter fascia is in cleaning position, acorus and other debris may be flushed off the top of the roof and individual pans may be easily replaced by removing and replacing them in an endwise manner.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a roof structure comprising a plurality of channel-shaped pans interconnected in edge to-edge relation, a gutter fascia extending transversely of the ends of the pans and including a gutter trough underlying the end edge of the pans for receiving water therefrom, and means movably attacking the gutter fascia to the roof structure to enable the gutter fascia including the trough to be movable from an operative position to a position for cleaning.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 wherein said means connecting the gutter fascia to the roof structure includes a hinge structure attaching the top edge of the gutter fascia to the top edges of the pans.

3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said means attaching the gutter fascia to the roof structure includes a supporting member attached to the bottom surface of the roof structure and hingedly attached to the bottom portion of the gutter fascia for enabling the gutter fascia to be pivoted downwardly.

4. The structure as defined in claim 3 wherein said support means includes a telescopic member enabling the gutter fascia member to be moved laterally outwardly of the roof structure to enable the trough to pivot away from the pans.

5. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said gutter fascia includes a vertical panel extending transversely of the ends of the pans in spaced relation thereto, the lower end of the vertical panel extending below the bottoms of the pans, an upwardly and inwardly extending panel integral with the lower edge of the vertical panel and extending into underlying engagement with the bottoms of the pans inwardly of the ends thereof with the juncture, between the vertical panel and upwardly and inwardly extending panel defining a gutter trough for receiving water from the ends of the pans, said means attaching the gutter fascia to the roof structure including a hinge attached to the top edge of the vertical panel and to the top edge of the pans for pivotal movement of the gutter fascia about a transverse axis at the top edge of the pans whereby the gutter fascia can be swung to a position with the vertical panel extending upwardly in inverted position from the top edge of the pans with the upwardly and inwardly inclined panel being inverted with the juncture between the panels facing downwardly to facilitate dumping of trash from the gutter trough and to facilitate cleaning of trash from the ends of the pans by flushing any trash in the pans out from the exposed ends thereof.

6. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said gutter fascia includes a vertical panel extending transversely of the ends of the pans in spaced relation thereto, the lower end of the vertical panel extending below the bottoms of the pans, an upwardly and inwardly extending panel integral with the lower edge of the vertical panel and extending into underlying engagement with the bottoms of the pans inwardly of the ends thereof with the juncture between the vertical panel and upwardly and inwardly extending panel defining a gutter trough for receiving water from the ends of the pans, said means attaching the gutter fascia to the roof structure including a longitudinally extending telescopic support member supported below the bottom surface of the roof structure, hinge means attaching the movable component of the telescopic support member to the upwardly and inwardly extending panel of the gutter fascia to enable outward movement of the gutter fascia in relation to the pans until the innermost edge of the upwardly and inwardly inclined panel passses outwardly beyond the ends of the pans thus enabling the gutter fascia to be pivoted about a transverse axis to a substantially inverted position in which the vertical panel extends downwardly and the upwardly and inwardly extending panel opens downwardly for dumping any material in the trough and at the same time exposing the ends of the pans to enable any trash therein to be flushed off the ends of the panels, the upper edge of said vertical panel including flange means thereon engaging the upper edges of the pans when the gutter fascia is in operative position,

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1895 Andrew 5216 11/1938 Walker 52--16 X 8/1950 Dailey 52-12 X 6/1961 Dunn 52-11 X 5/1963 Hegedusich 52"-16 10/1963 Heirich 5215 11/1966 Wells 52-16 11/1968 Corry 5216 X 12/1968 Hitter 5211 FOREIGN PATENTS 2/ 1966 France.

US. Cl. X.R. 

